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How to Explore the Interstellar Travel Timescales 3D Explorer
Open the Interstellar Travel Timescales 3D Explorer, pick a vehicle, and drag the time slider to see how far it gets toward Proxima Centauri.
- Open https://freetoolonline.com/space-3d/interstellar-travel-timescales.html and wait for the Sun, the distance line, and the Proxima Centauri marker to render.
- Pick a vehicle from the dropdown: Voyager 1, the Breakthrough Starshot concept, or light itself.
- Drag the time slider (a log scale from 1 year to 100,000 years). Low values keep the marker near the Sun; high values move it toward Proxima Centauri.
- Read the facts panel for the active vehicle's real or published speed, one-way transit time, elapsed years, percent complete, and remaining light-years.
- For the Breakthrough Starshot concept, notice the extra "signal lag after arrival" line once the marker reaches Proxima Centauri.
- Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom to see the Sun-to-Proxima line from a different angle.
Key published figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Proxima Centauri distance | about 4.246 light-years |
| Voyager 1 speed / transit time | about 17 km/s / about 75,000 years |
| Breakthrough Starshot concept speed / transit time | about 0.2c / about 20 years |
| Light-travel time | about 4.25 years |
Next: the when-to-use guide or the vs-alternatives comparison. Open the Interstellar Travel Timescales 3D Explorer.
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